Unveiled by President Ruto – Reteti’s brand-new, fully immersive Visitor Centre!
Photo provided by The President’s Media Team
Words cannot describe the excitement at the opening of our world-class and highly interactive Reteti Visitor Centre on Friday 10 November 2024!
After four years of careful planning by The Sarara Foundation, Namunyak Community Conservancy, Save The Elephants and MASS Design Group, the Reteti Visitor Centre was officially opened by the President of Kenya, His Excellency Dr. William Ruto.
During the opening ceremony, President Ruto took an extensive tour of the exhibition centre and Reteti’s facilities – including visiting Reteti’s milk kitchen, pasteurisers, and also feeding Kawalash, one of our orphans, a milk bottle! President Ruto was particularly impressed by our Milk to Market program and the wider impact it has throughout Namunyak Conservancy. As part of his visit, he planted a fig tree, which holds deep significance for all of us here, as Reteti was named after this sacred tree.
This much-anticipated event was attended by various dignitaries, stakeholders, as well as Namunyak Conservancy’s Samburu leadership and community members – the heartbeat of Reteti’s pioneering conservation work.
Photos by Jane Wynyard, Frank Pope and The President’s Media Team
Vivid & meaningful portrayals
The Visitor Centre is a celebration of Reteti’s community-led conservation, a space designed to inspire and inform everyone who visits, whether they’re from the community, or across the globe. The centre is a treasure trove of stories and behind-the-scenes insight into the vital work being done to protect Northern Kenya’s elephant populations.
Mindfully curated to represent the meaningful work of the sanctuary’s passionate team of Samburu keepers, researchers, and rangers, the centre is ultimately a testimony to generations of coexistence between the Indigenous community and the wildlife with whom they share this land.
The exhibition experience unfolds as a journey through every part of Reteti’s work: from the call to rescue an elephant, to the process of rehabilitating and raising these orphans, the care that goes into preparing their milk bottles, and finally, how we release elephants back into the wild and track them once released.
The various exhibits vividly portray the plight of Northern Kenya’s wild elephant herds, addressing key challenges such as the devastating impact of recurring droughts and erosion. At the same time, it celebrates the Samburu community’s unwavering efforts over decades to restore elephant numbers and promote far-reaching rangeland regeneration.
Adding even more understanding each visitor’s experience, this open-air hub nestled near the foothills of the breathtaking Mathews Mountain Range offers every visitor to Reteti an unparalleled gateway into the world of the elephants and their wider landscape.
WATCH: Reteti Manager, Peter Lenasalia demonstrates an interactive exhinbit to President Ruto
Video by Jane Wynyard
Thoughtfully designed and built!
The centre’s design was inspired by traditional Samburu bomas (protective enclosures) – with the construction harnessing natural materials and blends in seamlessly with its natural surroundings. Quite poetically, this included elephant dung to smooth the floorwork! Other elements range from ‘wiggly’ blue gum pole walls to a sloping roof to collect rainwater – with everything adding to a warm and welcoming organic atmosphere.
Each visit culminates at Reteti’s viewing platform, where visitors can watch and photograph the elephant calves being fed by their keepers!
With multilingual displays in English, Kiswahili, and Maa, the centre honours the region’s rich cultural diversity – and will inspire future conservationists from all over the globe by welcoming international visitors, local schools, and neighbouring communities to learn more about its work.
Highlights visitors can look forward to include:
interactive exhibits, such as a GPS-tracking model of elephant movements
an interactive journey showcasing Reteti’s community-owned and -led conservation efforts
insights into the Indigenous Samburu people’s partnership with the sanctuary
Reteti’s ongoing rewilding projects & successes
the science of elephant tracking
the critical role of human-elephant coexistence
Photos by Jane Wynyard
We couldn’t be more proud of our newly opened Visitor Centre, as it inspires and educates – while allowing every visitor to become part of this special journey… A journey that fosters a spirit of kinship with Reteti, the Samburu, and Namunyak Community Conservancy’s incredible grassroots conservation work.
WATCH: President Ruto’s experience at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary
A very special, heartfelt thank you to Jody Allen and the Wild Lives Foundation, who made this all possible! We are deeply grateful for the support. Ashe oleng to the first ladies who attended the opening ceremony:
H.E Bevelyne Lelelit – Samburu County
H.E Agnes Ntuntu – Narok County
H.E Edna Lenku – Kajiado County
H.E Rukia Abdinassir – Wajir County
H.E Sabina Mwadime – Taita Taveta County
H.E Seline Barchok – Bomet County
H.E Habiba Galgalo – Isiolo County
H.E Emily Nyaribo – Nyamira County
H.E Betty Orengo – Siaya County
H.E Agnes Ochillo – Migori County
H.E Alamitu Jattani – Marsabit County
H.E Scovia Kachapin – West Pokot County
H.E Beatrice Sakaja – Nairobi County
H.E Sabina Samoei – Uasin Gishu County
H.E Lilian Akamais – Turkana County
Ms. Janet Sayo – CEO/Secretary CFLA
